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10. In Daniel's Den
- The University of Alabama Press
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136 THE KLAN UNMASKED The Press, of course, reported all the lurid details of Homer's and Betty's arrest and conviction with great glee. From my vantage point inside the Columbians I was able to observe the after-effects, which were considerable. Many Columbians-especially women and older memberspromptly resigned because of the "disgraceful affair." Some even wrote in and reminded the Columbians of their professed purpose, as stated in their charter, ofbringing about a " moral revival." Hard-shell Baptists of the Deep South's " Bible Belt" felt that the Columbian leader had committed an unpardonable sin.... While Loomis was thus busy getting himself into hot water, I continued to scout about for fuel to add to the fire. My conversations with Mary Lane had been so rewarding that I decided to pay a visit to the other girl friend of the Columbians she had mentioned-Mrs. Nettie Meredith Stewart. I found Mrs. Stewart, a frenzied middle-aged woman, at her home in the suburbs. In introducing myself as Perkins of the Southern Outlook, I intimated that Burke and I were collaborating on an article. " I can tell you a lot more about the Columbians than he can! " she shrieked. "I was the one who helped them get started. Homer Loomis is the real leader-he's a great patriot, the equivalent of Patrick Henry! " "I understand you are also head of the Republican Women's Study Club," I said. "Oh, yes," she replied. "The Republican National Committee refers to me all applications for affiliation with the Republican Party that come in from Georgia women. We have a very nice group here in Atlanta where we have social teas and discuss burning issues of the day. I'm so glad that a Republican, that nice J. Parnell Thomas, is about to take over the House Committee Investigating Un-American Activities. Let me show you a copy ofa letter I've just written to him." Her letter, it turned out, consisted largely of a list of people and organizations she wanted Thomas to investigate. I noted with interest that along with such people as Drew Pearson, Walter Winchell, Ellis Arnall and Dan Duke, ASSORTED NUTS 137 Stetson Kennedy was also recommended for investigation. But my big discovery concerning Mrs. Stewart was that she was very much involved in a series of pro-Columbian columns which Westbrook Pegler had just begun to dish out to the newspapers of the country. " I called Loomis and read him the first Pegler column over the phone," Mrs. Stewart said. "He said he wanted to get in touch with Pegler, so I gave him Pegler's home address. The Columbians' attorney, Vester Ownby, wrote Pegler, thanking him for the column and asking permission to reprint it. Pegler gave the Columbians permission, and added, 'You ain't seen nothing yet! ' " With some further questioning, I learned that Mrs. Stewart's principal pipeline to Pegler was a woman in New York City named Pear Bussey Phinney. This dame, I knew, was one of the best friends of the totalitarian-minded groups throughout the country. I had already come across her name in the Columbians' ledger where they listed their financial contributors. But I was most anxious to verify Mrs. Stewart's assertion that the link between the Columbians and Westbrook Pegler was more than just a meeting of minds. " Old lady Stewart tells me Pegler wrote ' you ain't seen nothing yet' when Ownby thanked him for his columns defending the Columbians," I said one afternoon when Jimmy Akin and I were alone at headquarters. "Those were his very words!" Akin grinned. "I've got his letter right here on file. I'll show it to you." And so he did. The Columbian file cabinet was kept locked, and I wondered if I would ever find it left open so I could delve into its contents. Even if I were left alone in the office, I knew it would be quite a chance to take, what with Columbians always popping in unexpectedly. Meanwhile, I resolved to latch on to the next best thingthe contents of the Columbians' waste-baskets. I had watched everyone from Loomis on down toss all sorts of intriguing things into these receptacles. Incoming mail, first drafts of outgoing mail, memos to themselves and one another, all had a way ofending up in the waste-baskets. [34.228.188.171] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 12:58 GMT) 138 THE KLAN UNMASKED Once or...